Paper Rose
by ehm23
Summary: Waking up clueless sucks but hey, at least Naruto found someone named Sasuke who could help him remember. Sad story ahead! Oh, and do read the note I left. It is very important! (Naruto's POV) (Complete)


**PLEASE READ THE NOTES, IT IS VERY IMPORTANT. THANK YOU.**

**NOTES: **Hello! A little explanation here, if you all wouldn't mind.

Okay, some of you may have already read this story published by another author here. If that's the case, hold your horses and let me do some explaining. That author (emme.o23) and I are one and the same. I can't open my previous account so I made a new one (for further explanation, please go to my profile page). Anyways, I republished Paper Rose because this is the very first story I did in the first-person point of view, and I think it would be the last because I find it extremely hard to write in this POV. Also, it's my first take of Character Death. This story really has a place in my heart so thank you so much for reading (and rereading) it. Oh and lookie! I made changes from the original, but it's really nothing big.

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><p><strong>Paper Rose<strong>

**_The name's Naruto, and everything began from a beautiful red paper rose._**

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><p>It was kind of weird actually. Scratch that, it was really, really weird. A white ceiling seemed to be spreading itself, and an annoying machine on the left side of my bed was beeping a little too loudly for my liking. But that wasn't the weird part.<p>

The weird part was that I woke up knowing absolutely nothing.

It was like my world was suddenly washed white, leaving nothing for me to ponder. I can't remember anything the moment I opened my eyes. The things that happened the day before, or the day before that, were not coming back to me; I don't know what happened to me, or to my life. Hell, I can't even remember my own name.

I felt like I was drowning in a pool of uncertainty, which I probably was given my condition. Everything was a blur, nothing was clear at the moment and I'm having major headaches just by thinking and worrying why I am currently confined inside a hospital… and why I was holding a rose made from a red paper.

Somehow I managed to laugh. I don't know why but when I think of this red paper, an image of a perfectly juicy tomato comes to my mind. Weird. But I couldn't help but smile.

**When** I woke up once again because of the rather painful and shockingly loud moans coming from the room next to mine, I noticed the large and expensive-looking glass flower vase standing on the table next to my bed. In it were beautifully and wonderfully folded papers that looked a lot like roses. Wow. I mean, WOW!

But… how can these paper roses be there? There was nothing there yesterday.

**The next day**, I was deeply astonished.

There were so many glass vases that were all overflowing with red paper roses! And there were also vases which contained real roses!

I can't really explain how or why the roses were multiplying during the short period of time I was asleep, but that didn't mean that I can't be happy about it. I was terribly happy about it! And of course, I again cannot explain why that sort of feeling was swelling up inside my chest. I took one paper rose from the glass vase and a small smile formed its way onto my face. It was awe striking, and for some reason, I really loved it. It felt like I'm in a rose garden full of roses that will never ever wither. Flowers that would stay by my side forever and ever. Flowers that would give me endless hope.

A shuttering sound reached my hearing and my attention was fully thrown to the door where the sound came. A man with a rather ridiculous duck-butt hairstyle broke a flower vase. Instantly, I found out who made the room into a rose garden.

"Naruto…"

"Who're you?" Wow. I'm rude.

He didn't reply, and then I realized the bead of tears forming in his dark eyes. And then he silently cried. I felt that it was wrong for him to cry, I didn't know the reason for the unreasonable though. I simply feel, just as I feel that this man doesn't cry. He shouldn't cry. Somehow, I felt that it wasn't like him to do such a thing, and I wondered why such feelings came to me.

"What? What's the matter? Are you hurt?" I panicked. Someone call a doctor! "Oh don't cry! You're a man aren't you?"

"Hn. Don't worry, I'm not hurt." He wiped away the tears and headed towards me. "I'm Sasuke. How are you?"

"I'm fine. Um…" I bit my lips. "Naruto… Is that my name?" He nodded. I asked again. "You made all these paper roses?"

"Do you like it?"

"YES!" It was weird. I felt a connection, a spark; it was as if I know this guy… I probably did once upon a time but there's something more important right now. "Can you teach me how to make one?"

He simply smiled.

Again, I felt something wasn't right.

Ever since then, every time I wake up, he would be there. He would tell me stories about my life, and he would teach me how to make paper roses whenever I had my eyes opened. I'm happy but…

Well, I can't help but notice the sadness whirling in Sasuke's eyes, and the weakness of his body. I can notice that he was getting weaker and weaker by the day. He's probably exhausting his self way too much. The bastard.

"You know you don't need to keep making those roses right? I bet that's very tiring."

Sasuke chuckled. "Naruto. I'm perfectly happy doing this."

"Why's that?"

"Hn." Sasuke looked away. "Well, I feel like only these paper roses can bring my beloved back to me," he smiled. "Corny right?"

I didn't answer. I couldn't answer. I don't know why but I'm jealous. Damn.

Days passed and the room was completely conquered by the beautiful red paper roses. But with this was Sasuke's lack of visits.

What's worse was the fact that I always wake up because of the loud, painful moans and cries coming from my neighbouring patient. I didn't mind waking up a couple of times, what I did mind was the suffering that was constantly visiting him; it always made me curl up into a circle and cry. Somehow, I want to assure him – or her, you never know - that everything will be fine.

One day, Sasuke came with a bouquet of lush, red rose. I want to be happy but I just can't. His lost of weight was as obvious as the warm light of the sun!

"Naruto."

I smiled to keep myself from twitching because of the worry I was suddenly stucked with.

"Sorry but…well, I think this is…um…" He was uncomfortable. His eyes were looking down and his hands were slightly shaking and turning red. "My last…" I didn't let him finish. Like hell I will. "NO! I don't want to!"

"Huh?"

"I don't want to!" I blinked my tears away. "Please, don't leave me! Please!"

I was shocked by the warm smile he threw my way. Sasuke smiled like never before. I could see the happiness in his smile, could feel the love and the hope and the faith that was clearly shining like a bright star. I felt everything he felt with that one simple smile. "Thank you." He said softly. He let the roses fall on the floor, and he hugged me ever so tightly. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."

"Sasuke?"

"Idiotic Naruto. I won't leave you; I will never, ever leave you. I'll stay by your side, I promise."

I felt relieved. "Don't make promises you can't keep." I laughed jokingly.

"I'll try my best to keep it. Is that alright?"

"Yes," I don't know if it was just my imagination but… I thought I heard him whisper the three words of confession.

**I was woken** by the shattering sound I heard from the door. There was a commotion happening outside my room. I tried my hardest to ignore it; to simply go back to sleep, but my eyes had its own will. I started to cry for an unknown reason. I cried and cried until darkness enveloped me. I slept with Sasuke's name on my lips.

**Now** I can't be sure as to what I'm supposed to feel the day after, when a nurse and her smiling face woke me up. She was trying to be happy, but her emerald green eyes and her movements showed otherwise. Hospitals seem to have that effect on people, after all, one can only see and handle so much sadness before actually knowing what to do when deemed the chance to do it. "Sir, come on now. We're going somewhere."

Then I saw a wheelchair from the corners of my eyes. There sat a bouquet of red roses which the nurse kindly gave to me.

"Is this from Sasuke?" I happily and excitedly asked. She didn't answer me, instead, she helped me into the wheelchair and started assisting me out of my room. We went to the next door. She opened it for me.

The room was like a factory of red paper, there were red papers and glass vases all over the place. I immediately felt the warmth of life, and the light of love. But there was no one on the bed, just a single red rose.

"I'm so sorry…" The nurse whispered.

My whole body began to shake as the nurse wheeled me to the bed, and I thought my heart stopped when I saw two smiling couples in their wedding attire. They were smiling, both hands joined together to make one heart.

It was Sasuke… and myself…

"Mr. Uchiha tried hard… but…" My tears began to fall. "He had a heart condition and," She was hesitating, "He was deadly allergic to," she paused. "…to roses. It worsened his condition. I'm sorry Mr. Uzumaki."

I cried entirely.

"It's not your fault," Her voice was sweet, and fondness was there. "Your husband was happy, he is happy. He said that you were the one who taught him to make a paper rose because he likes roses but can't entirely enjoy it. You were his life… Since you were in coma, he spent all his time making roses for you." Her voice faltered. "He said your name before he…" She paused to think, "Went away."

"How long was I in a coma?"

"Two years Sir."

"How long did it take for," I found it hard to say his name, "to fill the room with the paper roses?"

The nurse made a mental calculation; I could say that it had been a long time. "I think it was almost a year and a half?"

The moment my tears burst into a sob, the wind blew hard. The red papers flew all around and out the room. I reached the one that came near me, and I stopped crying. Then my tears fell hard, like the drops of water during a stormy night. I weakly pleaded, "Nurse, please, let's go back to my room, please! Please!"

She led me back and I instantly took one paper rose and unfolded it. I continued the process with the nursing aiding me. One rose from a vase, then two, then three. Over and again I did it until my energy ran away from my body. And I shook worse than before.

"Here. Take it." The nurse placed the picture from before on the hands. All I could do was cry as I saw what I didn't before.

On the back of the picture were the exact words written on the folds of all the paper roses…

"Sasuke… Sasuke…" I remember everything now! I remember everything. Every single thing.

And it's all thanks to… Happiness is all thanks to all those… paper rose.

**_I Love You My Naruto,_**

**_Sasuke_**


End file.
